Safety match box



Dec. 8, 1942. J. A. BYE 2,304,536

SAFETY MATCH BOX Filed Oct. 8, 1941 Evan/Z07 Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED STAT PTENT OFFICE This invention relates to containers and moreparticularly to containers which are so constructed that they can be'opened only with a knowledge of the several operations which must becarried out before the container is released from its enclosing casing.The device is particularly adapted for use as a safetymatch box toprevent children from gaining access to the matches therein. Manychildren are seriously burned as a result of fires started by thechildren playing with matches. It is not always safe to place thematches on a shelf out of reach of the children because they can stillclimb upon a chair or table and secure the match box. Not only is theelement of physical injury involved but a considerable amount ofproperty is also destroyed in this manner.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a safety match boxwhich is secured in a casing by an arrangement of latches which requireseveral operations to release the combination of latches and the matchcontainer.

A further object of the invention is to provide latch elements andoperating means therefor wherein the operating means must be accuratelymoved to various predetermined positions in order to successfully openthe box.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combination oflatch elements wherein certain of said elements must be placed incertain predetermined positions simultaneously with the placement ofothers of said elements in order to release the latch container.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the upper portion thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail of one of the latch members.

The device includes a backboard 6 having an aperture 1 therein so thatthe backboard can be placed over a nail or other supporting member.Secured to the backboard is a casing A made up of a pair of sides 8 and9, a top H), and a bottom H. The front of the casing is open. A-

match container designated generally at B in-" cludes a front 12, a backl3, sides l4 and I5 and a bottom It. It should be noted that the sidesextend downwardly below the bottom and are supported on pivots IT. Thelower forward portions of the sides It and I5 are cut away as at [8 topermit the container to tilt forwardly on its pivots as indicated inFig. 4 in dotted lines.

It should be noted in Figs. 2 and 4 that the match container B is spacedforwardly of the.

rear wall of the casing C. Approximately in the central portion of thecasing back member 6 is a staple l9 and on the back of the match con'--vents the latch from falling too far down toengage the staple IS.

A shaft 24 extends horizontally across the rear portion'of the casing A,the left-hand end of said shaft, as viewed in Fig. 2, being journalledin the casingside wall 8 and the right-hand end of said shaft extendingexteriorly'of the casing and having a crank 25 thereon. The shaft 24carries a finger 26 which, as shown in Fig. 4, will engage theupstanding arm 2| and push it to the right as the shaft is rotated torelease the latch member 20 from the staple l9.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the shaft 24 carries a cogwheel 21. Adog 28 is pivotally mounted on the casing side wall 8 and said dognormally engages the teeth on the cogwheel 21 a holding the shaft 24against rotation. The dog 28 is held in engagement with the cogwheel by.

means of a lever 29 which extends through a' horizontal plate 30 securedin the casing. Below the plate 30 a spring 3| is located on the lever 29to yieldably urge said lever downwardly and keep the dog 23 inengagement with the cogwheel 2?. In Figs. 2 and 4 there is shown a knob34 and there is also shown a bentover end 29a on the rod 29 whichextends through a slot 8a in the casing side wall 8 and to engage withthe knob 34. The dog 28 has a slot 28a permitting the rod 29 to move asthe knob 34 is rotated. Naturally rotation of knob 34 will cause the rod29 and dog 28 to be raised thus bringing the dog 28 out of engagementwith the cogwheel 21.

Mounted on the container back 13 is a lever 35 pivotally mounted at 3'6.Said lever 35, as shown in Fig. 4, has an angular extension made up of apair of hinge members 31 and. 38. The hinge portion 38 has an extension38a, shown in Figs. 2 and 4, which prevents the hinge from workingupwardly past center as viewed in Fig. 4. When the shaft 24 is rotatedin a counterclockwise direction to release the latch 20, said shaft mustbe stopped at a pre-determined position since, if it is further rotated,the finger 26 will engage the hinge portion 38 and swing the lever 35 tothe left so that said lever will engage the upstanding arm 2| andre-engage th latch 26 with the staple 19. The hinge 31, 38 is providedso that should the shaft 24 be rotated in the opposite direction it willmerely push the hinge portion 38 to the right and cause no harm to theapparatus.

A pair of partitions 39 and 46 extend from the front to the rear of thecasing A and lie closely adjacent the sides of the container 13. Saidpartitions have arcuate slots 4| formed therein as shown in Figs. 3 and4, said slots having pins 42' extending therethrough from the receptaclesides l3 and I4. Pivotally mounted on the partition 39 is a latch member43 which, when the container B is pushed into the casing A, will hookover the left-hand pin 42 to further secure the container B in saidcasing A. A rod 44 is pivotally connected to the latch 33 and extendsdownwardly through the horizontal plate 30 and through the casing bottomI I'. A spring 45 on the rod 44 normally urges the latch 43 downwardlyso that it will remain engaged on the left-hand pin 42.

At the right-hand side of the casing a latch member 46 is pivotallymounted on the partition 40 and adapted to engage the right-hand pin 42.A latch operating rod 41 is pivotally connected to the latch 46 andextends downwardly through the casing bottom It and said operating rod41 carries a spring 48 normally urging the rod 4! upwardly to keep thelatch 46 in yielding engagement with the right-hand pin 42. It should benoted that to release the latch 43 it is necessary to push upwardly onthe rod 44 while to release the latch 46 it is necessary to pulldownwardly on the rod 41. I have also provided a pair of dummy rods 49and 50' which extend into the casing. The rod 49 carries a spring 51which yieldably urges the rod 49 upwardly and the rod 50' has a spring52 thereon normally urging said rod downwardly. The rod 56, as best seenin Fig. 5, is provided with a guide 5011 to keep it in proper position.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The knob 34 at the left-hand side of the casin A is turned to lift therod 29 by reason of its interconnection with the bent-over end 29a ofsaid rod 29' and, of course, rod 29 being connected to the dog 28, thelatter will be lifted out of engagement with the cogwheel 27. The crank25 is then rotated 180 degrees to cause the finger 26 to disengage thelatch from the staple l9. As shown in Fig. 4, this rotation of the crankand shaft 24 brings the finger 26 between the upstanding arm 2| and thehinge members 3'! and 38. Further rotation of the crank 25 and shaft 24will cause the finger 26 to engage the hinge portion 38 and cause thelever to swing to the left and reset the latch 20.

With the latch 20 disengaged from the staple t9 the latch operating rod44 is pressed upwardly and at the same time the latch operating rod 41is pulled downwardly whereupon the match container B will swingoutwardly from the casing A and rest at an angle approximately thatshown in Fig. 4.

When the match container B is pushed back into casing C the device isagain in position for operation, the catches having all been resetautomatically. The knob 34 is reset due to the tension of the spring 3|,and, of course, the latch 26 will naturally snap into the staple l9.Obviously latches 43 and 46 and dog 28 will engage their respectivecooperating parts.

Although the device appears to be rather complicated to a person firstlearning its operation it is in fact a very simple matter for onefamiliar with the construction to quickly actuate the catches and openthe container.

While I have described my invention as being useful as a safety matchbox it will be understood that the device might find a use as a puzzlebox since one unacquainted with its operation would find it extremelydifficult to get open.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my inven- 1 tion.

What is claimed is:

1. In a safety match box and the like, a casing, a match containermovable into and out of said casing, a first latch member within saidcasing releasably securing said container in said casing, means forlocking said lat-ch against movement, said locking means being movableto a predetermined position to release said latch for move ment tounlock the latter, a pair of additional latch members within. saidcasing securing said container in said casing, said pair of latchmembers having operators extending out of the casing, one of said pairof latch operators bein movable in one direction to release its latchand the other of said pair of latch operators being movable in theopposite direction to release its latch.

2. The structure in claim 1 and a pair of dummy latch operatorspositioned adjacent said first mentioned pair of latch operators andmovably extending into said casing but being disconnected from any ofsaid latches and said container.

3. In a safety match box and the like, a casing, a match containermovable into and out of said casing, a latch member within said casingreleasably securing said container in said casing, a latch operatorextending exteriorly of said casing, means for locking said latchoperator against movement, actuating means for said latch operatorlocking means extending exteriorly of said casing, said latch operatorlocking means being movable to a pre-determined position to release saidlatch operator, and being further movable to again lock said latchoperator when moved past said pre-determined position, and said latchoperator being movable to a pre-determined position to release saidlatch, means engageable by said latch operator for again securing saidlatch when said operator is moved past its pro-determined releasingposition.

4. In a safety match box and the like, a casing, a match containermovable into and out of said casing, a latch member within said casingreleasably securing said container in said casing, a rotary latchoperator extending exteriorly of said casing, said latch operatorincluding an element adapted to engage said latch and adapted to contactsaid latch to release the same when said operator is in apre-deter-mined position, and a latch reset element in the path ofmovement of said latch operator and movable to re-engage said latch whensaid operator is rotated beyond its pre-determined position.

5. In a safety match box and the like, a casin a latch container movableinto and out of said casing, a latch member Within said casingreleasably securing said container in said casing, a latch operatorshaft in said casing and having a portion extending exteriorly thereofto permit its rotation from the outside of said casing, a cogwheel onsaid shaft within said casing, a dog in said casing movable into and outof engagement with said cog-wheel, dog actuating means extendingexteriorly of said casing, and a latch releasing element on said shaftmovable into and out of engagement With said latch.

JOHN A. BYE.

